(ThyBlackMan.com) Whether it’s Hamilton and Burr or Biggie and Tupac, who are the personalities that have clashed the hardest throughout history? Find out in this guide to feuds.
For whatever reason, we love to learn about other people’s feuds. Whether it’s rap beefs, colonial history, or anything in between, we can’t seem to get enough of hearing about the crazy things people will do to their frenemies.
But which ones are the best and craziest? Continue reading to learn about the top feuds of all time.
The Hatfields and The McCoys
The Hatfields and the McCoys has to be the most well-known of family feuds in America. Although these two West Virginia families have been at it since 1865, things didn’t really escalate until the election of 1882.
On that fateful day, Ellison Hatfield was killed by three McCoy boys. The boys stabbed Ellison 26 times before finally putting a bullet in his chest. While the McCoy boys were being taken to court the next day in Pikeville, KY, they were intercepted by the Hatfield and murdered in cold blood.
Despite twenty arrest warrants being issued for the Hatfields, no law enforcement officials arrested anyone. Weirdly enough, the McCoys didn’t seek any revenge immediately after. Apparently, everyone agreed that the McCoys got what they deserved and things were settled.
Still, things were far from cool between the two families. They got into minor fights over the next several years.
Hatfield Arrests
However, the state finally decided to step in when financial investors decided to pass on giving money to the community due to their reputation for family feuding.
The State of Kentucky finally decided to cash in on those arrest warrants and arrested two Hatfield men a few weeks later. In retaliation, some Hatfield men went ahead and planned to kill Old Randall McCoy, the Mccoy patriarch, so that he couldn’t testify against the Hatfields in court.
They carried out their plan on Randall McCoy by setting his cabin on fire on New Years Day in 1888. When the McCoys fled the burning cabin, the Hatfields shot and killed two adult McCoy children. They then grabbed Mrs. McCoy and beat her but she managed to survive.
Randall ended up escaping harm’s way by hiding in his pigpen. Many of the other Hatfields thought things had gone too far this time and the feud between the two families had more or less calmed down.
In total, around twelve people died during the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. However, they eventually settled their differences and even played against each other on the popular game show, Family Feud.
Tupac and Biggie
Originally good friends, hip-hop’s two biggest stars of the 90s quickly turned into deadly enemies. The two New York City-born rappers first met in Los Angeles in 1993 and quickly hit it off.
Then, in 1994, Tupac publicly accused Puff Daddy and Biggie Smalls of being involved in a robbery and shooting in the Quad Recording Studios lobby. Biggie soon after released a B-side single entitled “Who Shot Ya” which Tupac took as a diss track.
Tupac responded with several of his own songs dissing Biggie. The media took this and ran with it all, claiming a coastal rap war – Tupac on the West coast and Biggie on the East. Fans were forced to take sides.
Then, in 1996, Tupac was shot in a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas strip. He died six days later.
Just six months after Pac’s death, Biggie was also killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, CA.
Hamilton and Burr
Thanks to the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton, people all over the world are familiar with the feud between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
During the New York gubernatorial race of 1804, Hamilton wrote several articles disparaging Burr’s character.
Later, it was thanks to Hamilton’s efforts that Aaron Burr only ended up becoming America’s Vice President and not the actual President.
Burr became so fed up with the way Hamilton thwarted his political ambitions that he publicly challenged Hamilton to a duel. Duels at this point in American history were becoming outlawed in many states but that didn’t stop Burr from calling out Alexander.
Although Hamilton didn’t want to duel as he was a husband and a father, he felt he’d come too far to not accept the challenge. So on July 11, 1804, the two men departed Manhattan and met up in Weehawken, New Jersey.
When the duel commenced, each man fired one shot. Hamilton’s bullet went over Burr’s head. Burr’s bullet hit Hamilton in the lower abdomen. Hamilton immediately collapsed and died soon after.
As Burr speechlessly approached his foe, his friends rushed him away and took him back to Manhattan.
Many people speculate that Hamilton purposefully missed Burr and he apparently even told people that this would be his plan. Unfortunately, Burr never heard this plan and after Hamilton fired a shot near his head, Burr felt justified in firing back.
Perhaps, if the two men had challenge coins on them, they could have settled their differences and walked away with more respect for one another. What is a challenge coin, you might ask? It’s a coin or medallion that’s used to boost morale and inspire community amongst people in the same group.
The Importance of Learning About Famous Feuds
Hopefully, after learning about history’s most famous feuds, you can look back on your own feuds and disagreements and learn to be a little more sympathetic. All of the feuds listed above sadly ended in death due to pride.
Had the parties involved taken the time to listen and understand each other, these tragedies probably never would’ve happened.
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Staff Writer; Peter Ford